


placing things back together

by crosspolination



Category: Memories of the Alhambra (TV)
Genre: Fix-It, Gen, Platonic Relationships, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-10-16 13:50:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17550890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crosspolination/pseuds/crosspolination
Summary: After a year of looking, Yoo Jinwoo meets Jung Seju. They end up having more in common than they expected.





	placing things back together

**Author's Note:**

> hello who else is mad at the fact that the whole show was about jinwoo looking for seju but seju and jinwoo don't fucking meet

“Jung Seju?” Jinwoo says. 

 

Jung Seju doesn’t react at first. He’s not really looking at anything in his room - his eyes seem zoned out and dazed. Jinwoo’s heart clenches, even in the smallest way - a kid definitely would take it differently than the way he handled the game. 

 

Unsure what to do, he tentatively grabs a chair in Seju’s room and sits down on it, placing it in front of Seju.

 

“I hope you don’t mind,” Jinwoo says, putting the cane down and trying to stretch his leg. “Sitting down on the floor with a limp is kind of hard.”

 

That seems to make Seju react. His eyes widen, being impossibly big behind his glasses, and his palms extend - like he wants to reach out to Jinwoo’s leg and fix the injury himself.

 

“I - I didn’t mean that,” is the first thing Seju says. Despite the confusion of the situation, Jinwoo wants to chuckle at how deep his voice is for a kid. “I didn’t know - Mr. Yoo - you shouldn’t have - I didn’t -”

 

Poor boy is stumbling all over his own words. Jinwoo reaches out, placing a hand on his thigh, and Seju sucks in a deep breath, like he’s scared he’s going to be punished. Jinwoo racks his brain for something  _ good  _ to say, something to make him feel less guilty and less awful about himself.

 

“I know,” he settles for saying. “I know you had no idea what happened. Truth is, it’s not what I expected when I started testing your game, either.”

 

Seju looks like he’s one step away from crying. The corner of his eyes look teary, and Jinwoo  _ wishes  _ he was as good as Heeju when it came to making sure people felt safe and comforted. He is half-tempted to ask her how to treat her brother, but he refuses to. This is something that he’s been trying to do for over one year: find Jung Seju and talk to him.

 

“It’s a  _ really  _ good game,” Jinwoo starts by saying. It’s kind of ironic to say it now, but - graphic wise? Playability? Deleting the awful trauma he got, it was a pretty good game. “You programmed it all yourself?”

 

Maybe that was wrong to say. The last thing Jung Seju would want to hear is about how he programmed the game that really gave them both hell. After a beat of silence, Seju nods, twiddling with his fingers like every answer would be there.

 

“You’re a genius,” Jinwoo says. “Seventeen years old and already did a better job than every boring adult in my company.”

 

Seju doesn’t reply, but he seems to feel pretty good about the small praise. He looks up, and Jinwoo wonders if there was ever a time during his story that he looked half as terrified as Jung Seju did right now.

 

“Your leg…”

 

“Not game related,” Jinwoo replies, trying to lighten the burden off Seju’s shoulders. It was half a lie, half a truth. “I fell down from the sixth floor in your hostel.”

 

Seju’s eyes widen. “T-the sixth floor? But… but no one uses the sixth floor… I-I forgot there was a room there…”

 

Jinwoo snorts. “Yeah, well. Your sister did too. First night there I had to get rid of rats and clean up everything.”

 

Mentions of the hostel seems to make Seju a bit happier. Jinwoo briefly wonders if it’s got anything to do with how things were a year ago - maybe he still associates good memories with Granada, not Korea. 

 

Before the silence extends, Jinwoo asks, “How do you like the new place?”

 

“It’s good,” Seju says. He pats the bed like he’s making sure he’s still there. “It’s…”

 

“Hm?”

 

“It’s really big.” There is a trace of a laugh in his voice. Jinwoo is almost  _ beaming  _ at that. “Back at home - G-granada, I mean, everything was so small. This is so big.”

 

“I’m glad you’re comfortable.”

 

Seju nods, and Jinwoo has  _ so  _ much to say still. He has so many questions to ask. Jung Seju is right there, but Jinwoo holds back every single doubt for now. The kid seems like he needs more of a therapy session more than he needs to tell Jinwoo about things.

 

“Well,” he stands up from his chair. Seju’s eyes follow him. “I made your sister promise me she’d teach me how to play guitar. I can’t be late for that.”

 

Seju nods.

 

Jinwoo gets an idea. “Can I save my number on your phone?”

 

“I… I still don’t have a phone, sorry…”

 

Jinwoo shakes his head. “It’s fine, really. I want you to know you can always call me if you need to talk about…” he pauses, trying to form the sentence in a good way. “About whatever you saw while playing the game. I’ll understand.”

 

Seju doesn’t do much besides nodding, and Jinwoo is satisfied with that. Before he leaves, he hears the world’s smallest ‘ _ thank you _ ’ and smiles to himself.

 

**♡**

 

He wakes up to the sound of phone ringing at three-forty five in the morning. The ID says  _ Jung Heeju _ , so he wastes no second to pick up. 

 

“Heeju?” he asks.

 

There is no response. Jinwoo sits up, alarmed, hand already looking for the cane to speed up to his car when he hears something. A sniffle followed by heavy breathing. 

 

_ Ah _ , Jinwoo’s brain says. His muscles relax a little and he lets out a breath. 

 

“Seju,” he confirms.

 

“ _ Mr. Y-yoo… _ ” the kid sounds like he’s been crying for hours. “ _ I can’t sleep. I - I close my eyes and I just see him - and I - _ ”

 

Seju gets cut off by his own desperate sob. Jinwoo wishes Heeju could hold him, because he’s not so sure Jinwoo would make a good hugger for these moments.

 

“Seju,” he tries. “Seju, look around your room. Tell me what you see.”

 

“ _ I… _ ” Seju quiets down for a second. “ _ N… not much… _ ”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“ _ A… TV, I guess… _ ”

 

He hiccups.

 

“ _ Boxes… _ ”

 

“Don’t you think you should remodel your room?”

 

The other side goes quiet for a few seconds. Jinwoo wonders if this is the wrong way to calm someone down, and yet again makes a mental note to ask Heeju what’s the best way to approach her brother. His worries soothe when Seju finally makes a sound again.

 

“ _ I-I should. My old room… had many things… _ ”

 

“Kinda dirty, too.”

 

“ _ Y-you saw it?” _

 

“I did some work in there, yes,” Jinwoo smiles a little at the memory. “You should get a computer again.”

 

“ _ I should… _ ” Seju sniffles again. “ _ I - I need a lamp. _ ”

 

“Too dark?”

 

There is no response to that. Jinwoo assumes he got it right.

 

“Big lamps or small lamps?”

 

“ _ Big lamps _ ,” Seju replies at last. “ _ I want nice lights… _ ”

 

Jinwoo smiles. He’s such a kid. 

 

“Tell your sister about that,” Jinwoo says. “I’m sure she’ll be happy to buy you some. Did you know she has more money than me now?”

 

It’s not true yet, but Seju gives him a laugh, and Jinwoo almost sighs in relief.

 

The line goes quiet for a second.

 

“ _ S-sorry for waking you up, Mr. Yoo. _ ”

 

“Don’t be,” Jinwoo holds back a yawn. “I’m glad you did.”

 

“ _ I should… I-I should give this to Heeju again… s-she didn’t hear me sneaking into her room… _ ”

 

“You should  _ also  _ tell Heeju to get you a phone,” Jinwoo smiles. “Remember, she’s rich now.”

 

“ _ I will _ ,” Seju promises. “ _ Uh… _ ”

 

“Good night, Seju,” Jinwoo finishes for him. “Call me if you need anything.”

 

Seju hums, and then he hangs up. 

 

**♡**

 

Seju tags along on their date.

 

Okay, that’s the wrong way to put it - Jinwoo just doesn’t want to admit he was on board with buying Seju things. Heeju still doesn’t let him live after he came over to stay with Minju, she really will not stop teasing him about being a softie if she finds out how much he cares about Seju. 

 

He has a feeling she does anyway, because she keeps looking between him and Seju, and giving him a suspicious smile. Of course she knows. She knows him better than anyone.

 

Seju is glued to Heeju’s side. His arm is locked with hers, and by the way he’s relying on her so much, it’s kind of funny to see Seju be taller than her. When he heard Seju’s voice for the first time, he kind of imagined someone in their twenties. And when he saw a picture of him, he hoped to see a kid at least smaller than him or Heeju.

 

Truth is, Seju is an entire 1.85m eighteen year old, and he’s a bit bitter that he’s a little taller than he is. 

 

Jinwoo is not sure if they look like a couple buying things for their gigantic child or not.

 

“Pick whatever you like!” Heeju encourages him, patting his arm comfortingly. Seju looks so safe with her, like he knows Heeju could never hurt him. “Jinwoo will pay for it.”

 

“I did  _ not  _ agree to that?” Jinwoo says, and the response makes her laugh and it makes Seju smile. He’ll pay for it, alright. 

 

Seju timidly wanders around the clothing store. He flinches whenever a worker approaches him, and every five seconds he turns around to stare at Heeju, like he’s checking she’s still there. He goes back to picking clothes once he decides she’s okay.

 

“I get him, you know,” Heeju says quietly. “I check on him a lot. I go to his room, talk to him, make sure he eats… I check on him before he goes to bed and sometimes I just make sure he’s still on his room, sleeping.”

 

“You’re scared if you lose sight of him, he’ll disappear again.”

 

Heeju nods quietly. “I missed him so much. I can tell he’s missed me, too. He…” she sighs. “He shares bits and bits of what happened, and I try to comfort and understand him. I just wish he hadn’t gone through all of that, or -”

 

Jinwoo puts an arm around her, quieting down her worries for a second. “He’s okay, Heeju. The only place he’ll be going right now is to try on his clothes.”

 

Heeju nods, looking at her brother picking up clothes. His arms are getting filled with sweaters and pants, and Jinwoo briefly wonders just how much he’s going to spend. It’s for a good cause, though, because the kid turns around to stare at them and nod like he got their approval.

They both follow Seju after he’s done trying the first outfit, and on the third outfit Jinwoo chuckles.

“Do you not like clothes your size?”

The brown sweater was at least two sizes bigger than him. His hands are impossible to see, buried by his own sleeves, and the only clothes that fit perfectly are the white pants he has on. Seju shakes his head.

“It’s warm and comfortable,” he reasons. Heeju smiles.

“As long as you like it,” she says. “You look cute, Seju.”

Seju looks down, seeming incredibly shy at the compliment, and he wordlessly hands his sister all his clothes. 

When he’s paying for the clothes, Seju approaches him. He tugs at his sleeve, and Jinwoo turns around, confused. “Did you forget something?”

“N-no, I…” Seju looks down and lets go. He gulps. “T-thank you, sir.”

Jinwoo smiles. He pats his head. “You’re welcome. Be sure to use it well, alright? Good.”

 

Next time he comes to visit Heeju, Seju is wearing the brown sweater they bought for him. Jinwoo smiles again.

 

**♡**

 

“Do you know how I should treat Seju?”

Heeju looks up from her guitar. “Hm? What do you mean?”

“I don’t want to accidentally upset your brother,” he explains, crossing his leg, “and I don’t want to accidentally make him feel uncomfortable. Have you… noticed anything that could make him sad? Anything I should avoid?”

Heeju purses her lips, standing up straight now and absentmindedly dusting off her clothes. She frowns for a second, and then she lights up.

“Seju doesn’t like yelling,” she says, turning her attention to him. “Sometimes Grandma nags at him for anything - but her voice is so loud, it’s like she’s yelling. Seju flinches a lot when that happens, and then… he just looks out of it.”

Jinwoo makes a mental note to try to always speak calmly. He wonders briefly what caused it, and hopes Seju opens up about things one day.

“...Loud noises in general, I think,” she adds after a second. “I accidentally dropped a box the other day, and it made a really loud noise. When I turned around, I saw Seju covering his ear with his eyes closed. He didn’t say what happened, but… he obviously wasn’t okay.”

“I see. Thank you. Anything else?”

“That’s all I got so far,” she smiles. “You really care about my brother, don’t you?”

Jinwoo smiles back, inhaling deeply and then shrugging. 

Heeju takes that as a  _ yes, I do _ .

 

**♡**

**Could you look after Seju for a while?**

**I need to go deliver things. Grandma’s out with her friends and Minju is at her academy. I don’t wanna leave him alone.**

**_Okay. I’ll be there in ten minutes._ **

 

Jinwoo doesn’t know  _ when  _ exactly he became the Jung’s unofficial babysitter, but he guesses this is a pretty good job to have. Way better than constantly being chased by dead people and NPCs. 

He arrives just as Heeju is leaving, and after saying goodbye to her, it’s just him and Seju at the doorway. 

Seju doesn’t say anything first, so Jinwoo does it. “Do you wanna go in?”

Seju looks at the sky behind him. Today is quite the cloudy day. He nods, and his hand is slightly shaking when he reaches out to open the door again.

It’s quite late. As soon as he steps in, he asks, “Have you eaten, Seju?”

Seju shakes his head. “Not yet… are you hungry, sir?”

Jinwoo holds up his hand and makes a little distance between his index finger and his thumb. “Just a little. I’ll cook for us.”

He walks towards the kitchen as Seju sits down on the sofa. 

“I must warn you, though,” Jinwoo opens the cabinets, “I’m only good at instant noodles. Are you okay with that?”

Seju nods quickly. He looks quite shaken up. Jinwoo asks: “Seju, are you okay?”

“Y-yes.”

Bad choice of words.

“Do you want to help me season the noodles?”

He doesn’t reply. Instead, Seju stands up and makes his way to the kitchen. He looks distracted, disconcerted. Jinwoo wishes he could talk better and ask what’s wrong.

A few more attempts failed at small talk, it  _ finally  _ happens. Jinwoo wishes he had realized it sooner when he looked at the sky.

The clear sound of thunder makes itself present in the air and Seju drops the spoon he was holding. All color drains from his face and his breathing becomes quick in a second, pupils shaking.

“Seju,” he tries, calmly. Last thing kid needs is another person panicking. “Seju-ah, look at me.”

The tears are already rolling down Seju’s eyes. His mouth is wide open, gasping and shaking. He tries to look at Jinwoo, and Jinwoo swears he’s never seen anyone as terrified as him.

What should he do? Is it okay to touch him? To reach out?

“I-it’s starting again,” he sobs out, his sentence dying out by the huge gasp he lets out. “It’s - it’s raining - the thunder -” 

“Seju-ah,” one more time. Seju focuses on him, slightly, but it’s enough. “It’s actually raining.”

Seju sobs again.

“You’re okay,” Jinwoo continues. He wonders what’s something he would’ve loved to hear when he used to hear the thunder and the rain haunting him. “You’re safe. No one is going to hurt you.”

“M-marco…”

“Not here. You’re home. And the rain is real. You’re okay. It's all over, Seju-ah.”

Seju doesn’t seem to be thinking straight at all when he lunges forward and hugs him. He’s trembling, and this is the first time someone taller and heavier than him lunges forward to him with all their strength, but Jinwoo holds him anyways.

It’s like he tries to make himself impossibly small by the way he curves his whole body down so he could be held. His entire body is shaking, sobbing from his chest, and Jinwoo wonders (not for the first time) just how terrified he was.

“I didn’t kill him - I -”

“You didn’t,” he  _ hopes  _ his voice is a soothing as he thinks. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Seju-ah. Okay? You’re just a kid. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Seju lets himself be held for what seems hours. Jinwoo does the most to be comforting, rubbing his back and patting his head.

Eventually, after a few minutes, Seju pulls away. His eyes are red. He wipes some tears with his sleeves, and coughs. “Mr. Yoo, I… I’m sorry about that… I… I feel really embarrassed.”

Jinwoo’s heart breaks a little. “There is nothing to be embarrassed about.” 

Maybe honestly will break through Seju, so he adds: “When I was feeling like you did, no one comforted me like this. I’d like to help you as much as I can. Wash your face, okay? And stay close to me. We’ll finish eating in your room. Is that okay with you?”

Seju nods quickly. He hears the tab going off, Seju sniffling, and when Jinwoo turns around he finds him without his glasses and pushing his hair out of his forehead, trying to wash himself clean.

Jinwoo chuckles, at least to lighten the mood. “Wow. You look like a whole different person.”

“Huh?” Seju turns around, obviously still a bit dazed.

“Without the glasses and your hair styled differently - it’s like you just had a transformation.”

That makes him smile. He puts the glasses back on , and he’s looking like Seju again.    
  


“Wow. Clark Kent, really,” Jinwoo laughs, and it makes Seju laugh in turn too. That’s good.   
  


Seju seems to be still embarrassed, because he still offers to help him up to his bedroom, even though Jinwoo is perfectly fine with his limp. Seju still carries both of their plates to his room, though, and when Jinwoo opens the door he’s pleasantly surprised.   
  


The room looks a lot livelier now. There are lamps on every corner, all of them with a cute unique design, and his walls have some posters now — videogames, things Jinwoo doesn’t really understand so much but must be something teenagers like nowadays.   
  


“It’s not as messy now, is it?” Seju asks a little nervously, voice still a little broken and teary.   
  


“No, I’d say you’ve done quite a good job keeping it up,” Jinwoo sits down, and Seju tentatively sits down next to him on the bed. “Put something to watch while we eat.”   
  


The rain doesn’t pour as hard on the bedroom, and the TV drowns out most of the sound. Seju eats slowly, like he’s eating just because he has to, but he looks much more relaxed now.

Jinwoo is glad he’s relaxed. They don’t speak much while they eat or after  it: Seju puts away his dishes and comes back to sit down on the bed. Jinwoo moves to the chair, and before he knows it, Seju is fast asleep on the bed.

Poor thing. The panic attack must’ve exhausted him.

He covers him with a blanket and as he steps out, he thinks he understands Jung Seju a little bit better.

 

**♡**

“Why did you create the game?”

It’s a pretty simple question. Seju looks puzzled, but he doesn’t flinch or gets scared. 

“I… wanted to help Heeju,” he says. He twiddles with his fingers, “Every memory I have of her is her working. And…”

Seju pauses and Jinwoo doesn’t press him.

“I thought… that my game would sell really well. That I’d make enough money for her to not work anymore.” He looks down at his fingers still moving. “Heeju has always taken care of us. Everything she does is for our family. I- I felt so h-helpless and useless… I just wanted to help her.”

“I see…” Jinwoo smiles a little. He really, really must love his sister. “What do you think of Heeju?”

“She’s the best,” he answers with no hesitation. “M-my sister is the best. She always takes care of us and… she’s good at the guitar… and she taught me Spanish… and she’s the  _ nicest  _ person in the world,” he smiles a bit. “I love her. She always feels safe.”   
  


Before Jinwoo asks it, Seju says: “That’s why I made Emma be a safe place.”

Cute.

“You love Heeju a lot,” he states, more to himself than Seju. Seju still agrees with the statement, anyway. “Do you feel safe here, Seju?”

Seju nods. 

“Sometimes it’s scary,” Seju mumbles. “But I have Heeju.”

_ Sometimes it’s scary. But I have Heeju _ . 

If that wasn’t the truest statement he heard.

 

**♡**

 

“Seju’s going to therapy,” Heeju announces. “Tomorrow. We figured it’d be good for him, and… I think it’d be a great thing if you came with me to drop him off.”

Jinwoo is extremely pleased with the news that Seju will be getting some well-deserved help. 

“You think he’d want me there?” Jinwoo asks. “I don’t want to make him uncomfortable by being in the car or something.”

“Are you kidding me? He loves you,” Heeju says, and. Hearing it like that makes Jinwoo feel… pleased? He cares about the kid, alright. He smiled without even noticing. “He always talks about you.”

Jinwoo is kind of curious. Instead, he says, “Ah, he always talks about you to me, too.”

Heeju’s smile is really bright. “Then that just means he loves us both. What do you say? You’re coming with us?”

Jinwoo nods. “Seems like a great plan.”

Heeju drives them to Seju’s appointment. Seju looks super nervous coming down from the car - he keeps looking around like something is going to go terribly wrong. Jinwoo pats his arm, as a silent  _ you’re going to be okay _ , and Seju nods like he understands what he means. He sticks to Heeju’s side still, as they both walk him through the rooms and the secretaries.

“We’ll be back in an hour,” Heeju explains, looking up and rubbing his arms comfortingly. Seju nods timidly. “If you need anything, call us, okay? Do you want me to bring you food after this?”

Seju hums. “Food is good. T-thank you.”

“Remember to be comfortable,” Heeju says. “It’s okay to talk to your therapist. They’re here to help you.”

Seju nods.

“It’s okay if you don’t say everything at once,” Jinwoo adds, for good measure and because of the feeling that he should he saying something. He’s not sure what makes him reach out and pat Seju’s head, but he does. “You can take your time with talking. There is no rush.”

He nods again, this time seemingly more relieved. They both let him go, and as he enters the room, Jinwoo looks around the place. It’s really nice. Really comfortable.

He slips one of their business cards on his pocket, for his  _ own  _ future reference.

 

**♡**

**a year later**

 

“CEO Jung Seju,” Jinwoo pokes at the sign on Seju’s table. “It has a ring to it.”

Seju hides his face with his hands. “I’m so embarrassed.”

“Why?” he laughs incredulously, “Because you’re my fellow CEO now?”

“N-no, not  _ that _ ,” Seju lifts his head up a little. “Everyone knows who I am.”

“...Yes. You developed our game, Seju-ah.”

“They  _ know me _ ,” Seju stresses, hiding again. “T-they wanted my autograph…”

“...Yes, you’re a big deal here.”

Seju looks so dazed by this. “I’m gonna die.”

Heeju reaches out to hold his hand and Seju takes it gratefully. “Ah, my brother is the popular CEO now,” she teases. “I’m going to see people lined up to date you now, and your millions of secret admirers!”

Seju is  _ red _ . His ears redden even  _ more _ . “Ah, Heeju, it’s not like that…!”

They share a laugh as Seju proceeds to look even more embarrassed. Jinwoo sobers up first, “Well, we gotta let the CEO build up his office. Call me if you need anything, sir.”

Seju shakes his head. “Stop. I’m  _ embarrassed _ .”

“Ah, Mr. CEO doesn’t have time to joke around anymore,” Heeju laments sarcastically. Seju hides again, and Jinwoo cracks up at how easily flustered he gets.

Heeju walks out first, and Jinwoo stays for a second longer to admire the new room. Sure enough, Seju would make it look like his own soon.

“M-mr. Yoo?”

“Sorry, I’ll be leaving -”

“No, no, I…” Seju twiddles with his fingers again. He takes a deep breath. “Thank you. For finding me.”

_ Thank you for not giving up on me _ .

Jinwoo nods. 

“Don’t worry. I’d do it again.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> ALSO DHAJDHSJ I HAD MORE IN MIND BU T. 4k seems enough dont yall think,, follow me on tumblr @jungsejuu for RANTING


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